PowerPoint design tips

1. PowerPointPowerPointPresentationsPresentations

2. PowerPointPowerPointPresentationsPresentations

3. Department of Telematic Education
Tips to be CoveredTips to be Covered
• Outline
• Slide Structure
• Fonts
• Colour
• Background
• Graphs
• Spelling and Grammar
• Conclusion
• Questions

4. Department of Telematic Education
OutlineOutline
• Make your 1st
or 2nd
slide an outline of your
presentation
– Ex: previous slide
• Follow the order of your outline for the rest
of the presentation
• Only place main points on the outline slide
– Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points

5. Department of Telematic Education
Slide Structure - LayoutSlide Structure - Layout
• Consistent font size for title & text
• Consistent placement of title & text

6. Department of Telematic Education
Slide Structure – GoodSlide Structure – Good
• Use 1-2 slides per minute of your
presentation
• Write in point form, not complete
sentences
• Include 4-5 points per slide
• Avoid wordiness: use key words and
phrases only

7. Department of Telematic Education
Slide Structure - BadSlide Structure - Bad
• This page contains too many words for a
presentation slide. It is not written in point
form, making it difficult both for your
audience to read and for you to present
each point. Although there are exactly the
same number of points on this slide as the
previous slide, it looks much more
complicated. In short, your audience will
spend too much time trying to read this
paragraph instead of listening to you.

8. Department of Telematic Education
Slide Structure – GoodSlide Structure – Good
• Showing one point at a time will:
– help audience concentrate on presentation
– prevent audience from reading ahead
– help you keep your presentation focused

9. Department of Telematic Education
Slide Structure - BadSlide Structure - Bad
• Do not use distracting animation
• Do not go overboard with the animation
• Be consistent with the animation that you
use

10. Department of Telematic Education
Fonts - GoodFonts - Good
• Use at least an 18-point font
• Use different size fonts for main points
and secondary points
– this font is 28-point, the main point font is 32-
point, and the title font is 42-point
• Use a standard font like Times New
Roman or Arial

11. Department of Telematic Education
Fonts - BadFonts - Bad
• If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
• CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY.
IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ
• Don’t use a complicated font

12. Department of Telematic Education
Colour - GoodColour - Good
• Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply
with the background
– Ex: blue font on white background
• Use colour to reinforce the logic of your
structure
– Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
• Use colour to emphasize a point
– But only use this occasionally

13. Department of Telematic Education
Colour - BadColour - Bad
• Using a font colour that does not contrast
with the background colour is hard to read
• Using colour for decoration is distracting
and annoying.
• Using a different colour for each point is
unnecessary
– Using a different colour for secondary points
is also unnecessary
• Trying to be creative can also be bad

14. Department of Telematic Education
Background - GoodBackground - Good
• Use backgrounds such as this one that
are attractive but simple
• Use backgrounds which are light
• Use the same background consistently
throughout your presentation

15. Department of Telematic Education
Background – BadBackground – Bad
• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
• Always be consistent with the background
that you use

16. Department of Telematic Education
Graphs - GoodGraphs - Good
• Use graphs rather than just charts and
words
– Data in graphs is easier to comprehend &
retain than is raw data
– Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
• Always title your graphs

17. Department of Telematic Education
Graphs - BadGraphs - Bad
January February March April
Blue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4
Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6

18. Department of Telematic Education
Graphs - GoodGraphs - Good
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls

19. Department of Telematic Education
Graphs - BadGraphs - Bad
20.4
27.4
90
20.4
30.6
38.6
34.6
31.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls

20. Department of Telematic Education
Graphs - BadGraphs - Bad
• Minor gridlines are unnecessary
• Font is too small
• Colours are illogical
• Title is missing
• Shading is distracting

21. Department of Telematic Education
Spelling and GrammarSpelling and Grammar
• Proof your slides for:
– speling mistakes
– the use of of repeated words
– grammatical errors you might have make
• If English is not your first language, please
have someone else check your
presentation!

22. Department of Telematic Education
ConclusionConclusion
• Use an effective and strong closing
– Your audience is likely to remember your last
words
• Use a conclusion slide to:
– Summarize the main points of your
presentation
– Suggest future avenues of research

23. Department of Telematic Education
Questions?Questions?
• End your presentation with a simple
question slide to:
– Invite your audience to ask questions
– Provide a visual aid during question period
– Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
– Contact details (e-mail address & contact
numbers)

24. Department of Telematic Education
PractisePractise
• Practise, practise, practise, ...